Sicilian director Pasquale Scimeca, whose Placido Rizzotto premiered this week in the Venice film festival's Filmmakers of Today sidebar, has finished writing his next project which will be set in 15th Century Spain.

The film will recount the period when a royal edict forced thousands of persecuted Jews to leave Spain. "It is one of the roots of modern day evils, in a way the birth of racism," said Scimeca, a former history and literature professor.

The film will be produced through Scimeca's Sicily-based production and distribution company Arbash Films, which also co-produced Sicilian drama Placido Rizzotto with RAI Cinema. Adriana Chiesa Enterprises recently picked up worldwide sales rights to Placido (ScreenDaily, September 6).